About OnExamination
OnExamination is a leading resource for online exam preparation in the UK. Since 2000, when the product was launched, it has provided revision support online, helping over 100,000 doctors and health professionals from more than 100 countries to pass their exams. OnExamination is part of BMJ Learning, the medical education division of the BMJ Group.
Its strengths lie in the expertise of e-learning. It can independently create mature learning products due to its abilities in three important areas.
- Information Technology: A highly efficient question engine capable of handling thousands of concurrent users and analysing millions of user responses.
- Educational Technology: A theory-based development and evaluation strategy has enabled the creation of practical on-line learning support for examinations and distance learners.
- Content commissioning and creation: A team of specialist editors and authors creating original content and ensuring current content is up to date.
OnExamination is run by Medelect Limited and is part of the BMJ Group, one of the world's leading providers of trusted medical information for healthcare professionals and patients. The BMJ Group publishes the BMJ (British Medical Journal), over 20 specialist journals, BMJ Clinical Evidence and BMJ Best Treatments. BMJ Group is owned by the British Medical Association.
Achievements
onexamination.com provides a growing number of postgraduate and undergraduate revision courses on-line that are designed to reflect the latest styles and questions in each exam.
Its core is a highly efficient question marking and analysis engine that has helped more than 50,000 doctors, in over 100 countries revise for their examinations. The website has analysed over 20 million question responses helping focus learners on the areas they need to improve to pass their exams. Many doctors have passed their exams using the website without the need for expensive and time-consuming residential courses.
NHS Trusts have benefited from the Managed Learning Environment designed by Medelect to facilitate and monitor learning for their junior doctors. They can easily identify the needs of each of their trainees and offer them 24 hour access to learning resources to fit in with on-call rotas.
Egg Head of the year
Egghead of the Year is the first national test of its kind for UK doctors. The competition was the result of collaboration between onexamination.com and Hospital Doctor magazine. The quiz was open over the weekend of the World Cup Final and the Wimbledon Tennis Final in 2006 and served as a light-hearted distraction for readers of Hospital Doctor looking for something to do other than sport!
The aim of the competition was to find the brainiest doctor in the UK across 7 specialties. Entrants were asked 10 questions in their chosen specialty, 5 general medical questions and 5 general knowledge questions.
This test of doctors' knowledge was made possible by the use discriminating questions from the onexamination.com question bank. Questions were selected using data on difficulty level and discrimination that is part of the routine analysis on the website. The results of the Egghead competition has allowed a more detailed calibration of the testing materials across a wider audience than those revising for postgraduate or undergraduate examinations.
Cardiff - Accra medical student initiative
Wales College of Medicine and the University of Ghana Medical School signed a Memorandum of Agreement on joint aims. A project backed by the Vice Chancellor in Cardiff and the Provost in Accra and delivered by Medelect will provide a shared learning resource for final year medical students in both institutions.
Diabetes Foundation Course
The Diabetes Foundation Course for Primary Care was founded by a Welsh Assembly Government initiative to support education for health professionals in Diabetes. To support the National Service Framework (NSF) for Diabetes in Wales this project aims to educate GPs from every Local Health Board. Medelect has developed the Content Management System and e-learning platform and will lead the commissioning and writing of content for the course. The course was opened by the Minister of Health in June 2004.
Middle East revision course
Medelect content and software has enabled an NHS Trust to explore recruitment and educational opportunities in Jordan. A group of UK tutors, and a local teacher, have set up a residential course in Amman to help doctors preparing for Royal College examinations. Medelect has supplied the course content, delegate packs and a managed e-learning subscription for delegates.
This partnership has helped bring an exam preparation resource to Jordan that would have otherwise had difficulty in generating the material and tutors. It has also allowed the UK tutors an extended period of time with doctors who are seeking overseas experience in the UK. The tutors are able to advise the delegates on regulatory requirements, career paths and identify potential recruits to their own Trust.
Meet the team
Directors
Dr Dean Jenkins MRCP, DipMedEd
Dr Steve Davies MD, MRCP
Technology development team
Courtenay Probert (Director of IT)
Gareth Ashby (Senior developer)
Max Davis (Senior developer)
Salman Qayyum (Senior developer)
Darren Summers (Designer/Creative)
Staff
Simon Davies (Medelect general manager)
Helen Davies (Editorial Team Manager)
Annie Cartwright (Sales and business development manager)
Claire Mitchell (Support desk)
Sarah Wiley (Specialist project manager)
Sarah Bourdice (Data entry)